Smyth, Hejduk score 300th goals in Avalanche win

Smyth, Hejduk hit scoring milestone only minutes apart

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 18, 2009 at 8:30 p.m.

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Photo by Doug Pensinger / Getty Images

Ryan Smyth, right, is congratulated by Jordan Leopold on Sunday after Smyth scored the 300th goal of his NHL career. Teammate Milan Hejduk scored his 300th career goal 4:44 later.

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They play on the same line, sit side by side on the bench and spend their time on the ice setting up each other for scoring chances.

So it was fitting that Avalanche forwards Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk each would reach the 300-goal mark for their NHL careers Sunday night at the Pepsi Center.

The milestone goals came 4:44 apart in the second period during the Avalanche's 6-2 win against the Calgary Flames that ended the team's losing streak at three games.

Smyth scored a short-handed goal at the 13-minute mark and Hejduk followed with a power- play goal at 17:44.

"When we were two or three goals short, 'Smitty' goes, 'Let's get it in the same night,' " said Hej duk who joined Joe Sakic (625), Michel Goulet (456) and Peter Stastny (380) as the only players to amass 300 goals or more in Quebec/Colorado history.

"It took us a while. We couldn't score for a while, but finally we got it. It's kind of cool that we got it on the same night."

Smyth and Hejduk became the second teammates in league history to reach the 300-goal plateau in the same game. They joined Detroit's Danny Gare and Ivan Boldirev, who did it against the New York Islanders on Feb. 26, 1983.

"I was shocked to hear that it only happened once before," Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. "It's a pretty incredible feat. Both those guys should be very excited and proud to have done it, and to have done it together.

"Those guys have played well since Day 1 of the season. They've played hard and they play a lot of minutes. They've made big plays consistently for us."

Smyth, skating on a two-on- one rush with Ben Guite, connected from the right faceoff circle, blasting the puck into the net by the left arm of Flames goalie Curtis McElhinney for a 3-1 lead.

"I looked at Benny because he was driving the net and the 'D' backed off to him," Smyth said, referring to Flames defenseman Adrian Aucoin. "I just shot and it went underneath his arm.

"Short-handed . . . not my specialty."

It was a momentum changer because the Flames had pulled to 2-1 on Michael Cammalleri's goal during a five-on-three power play.

Hejduk converted from the left faceoff circle after Aucoin was penalized for cross-checking Chris Durno. Smyth set up in front of McElhinney, and Hejduk sent the puck by the goalie's blocker.

"That's part of my job, going to the net, and he's got that shot," said Smyth, who has 30 goals - he has a team-high 16 this season - since signing with the Avalanche as a free agent July 1, 2007. He scored 265 goals with Edmonton and five with the Islanders.

Smyth scored his first NHL goal against Flames goalie Trevor Kidd on Nov. 24, 1995, while playing for the Oilers, whose fierce rivalry with Calgary is known as the Battle of Alberta and the Uncivil War.

"Getting this one, it makes it that much more special when you win and you can share it with another teammate," Smyth said. "I'll look back and know I shared it with Milan on the same night. His path (to the NHL) was different than mine, but doing this together on the same night is something I'll cherish."

Hejduk scored his first goal at McNichols Sports Arena in his first NHL game, against Ottawa on Oct. 10, 1998.

"I think it was against (goalie Ron) Tugnutt," he said. "I was just happy to be able to play in this league. I never thought about any milestones."

Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj, who stopped 39-of-41 Flames shots, enjoyed watching Smyth and Hejduk work their magic from the opposite end of the rink.

"It's tremendous," he said. "I was with the team when Joe Sakic scored his 600th goal. Now I'm here when Milan and 'Smitty,' two of my buddies, score 300. It's always great to see the guys that work hard and contribute to the team do things like this.

"It's not just them, it's the result of the entire team making good plays and good passes. But it's a great milestone and they definitely deserve it."

The Avalanche played one of its best periods this season, in the first, when it outshot the Flames 20-8 and took a 2-0 lead on goals by Marek Svatos on a power play and rookie Chris Stewart.

The Avalanche also got third-period goals from Ruslan Salei and Cody McLeod, who scored with five-tenths of a second to play in the game.

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